


Barnyard Talks

by mysticmajestic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Season 2 AU, Shance Month 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 11:52:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13612812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysticmajestic/pseuds/mysticmajestic
Summary: Not only is Lance excited to show Shiro their new cow, Kaltenecker, he has something to say about Shiro's methods of dealing with stress in the light of his unstable bond with the Black Lion.





	Barnyard Talks

**Author's Note:**

> Still trying to complete all my Shance Month fics. Good thing I'm posting these out of order for now.
> 
>  
> 
> [Follow me on Tumblr!](http://mystic-majestic.tumblr.com/)

“You…bought a cow?”

Armed with this frankly bizarre news, Shiro allowed Lance to drag him out to the ‘yard’ by the wrist. The yard was merely a repurposed room toward the back of the ship that had been transformed to look like a typical ranch. According to Hunk, even the artificial sunlight felt real.

“I didn’t buy the cow,” Lance scoffed. “It was free with the game system Pidge and I spent, like, hours in a wishing fountain collecting money for.” And how they hadn’t gotten in trouble for that was beyond Shiro. “This dude was just handing them out to anyone who bought anything in that shop.”

“How did he even get a collection of cows in the first place?” Just when he thought he’d seen and heard it all, space had a way of throwing Shiro for a loop once again. “Did he have to go to Earth to get them, or…” _Or does he breed them in the back room of his store?_

“Don’t even question it, dude. The space mall is weird.”

Shiro shook his head in disbelief. “The things I miss when I decide to stay behind and bond with my lion…” He allowed himself to chuckle. It felt good to laugh after the stressful day he’d had.

Black hadn’t been responding well to him. Zarkon’s bond was still there, like a rash that refused to let up. It was burrowed deep into Black, foul and poisonous and unwilling to be removed. Still stronger than the bond Shiro had with her. Shiro had allowed himself a break when Lance begged him to come out and see their new cow, but he’d have to go straight back and keep working on it.

“Next time we get to go a space mall, you should come with us,” said Lance brightly. “You won’t believe how many cool shops there are—besides the weird shop we got Kaltenecker from. That was full of old 1970s junk.”

Shiro wanted to promise Lance that he would, but he couldn’t. With Zarkon tracking the Black Lion, it was all Shiro could do to keep it out of his hands. If he had to sacrifice a fun day out with the rest of the team to keep them safe, he would.

He opted to hum noncommittally.

“I mean it,” said Lance, shooting a glare at Shiro over his shoulder. “You work yourself too much. One day you’re gonna get sick or something.”

“Well, I’ve made it this far,” said Shiro, and then immediately regretted it when Lance’s face fell. They were both thinking the same thing: the fighting pits of the Galra Empire, and all the trauma that went with it. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat, glancing around the ranch, in desperate need of a distraction. “So, where’s the cow?”

They’d stopped walking, standing amidst the swirling grass. Lance maintained a firm grip on Shiro’s metal wrist as they stared each other down. For a long moment, he wondered if they were both sizing each other up. The warmth of the artificial sun burned the back of Shiro’s neck.

“In the barn,” said Lance finally. Shiro sighed in relief as Lance turned away, pulling him in the direction of said barn. There was a loud, almost ear-piercing moo. A grin cracked the grim mask of Lance’s face. “Looks like she can sense us coming!”

Well, at least it looked like a real Earthen cow, even if Shiro strongly suspected that it was bred in the back of a shady Space Mall shop.

He wrinkled his nose at the smell. Never had he been so close to livestock outside of that one petting zoo he’d visited as a child on an elementary school field trip, Shiro warily followed Lance to greet the placid cow. And then stopped a good five feet away. Here was good enough.

“I think she needs more food,” said Lance. He was in the middle of inspecting Kaltenecker’s barn, pinching his chin in thought. “Help me get some more hay for her?”

“Of course, Lance.” If Shiro took the widest route around Kaltenecker, so what? Lance wasn’t paying him any attention, therefore there was no one who could tease him for it.

It took a bit of work to get the bale of hay into the trough. Where they got that from, Shiro had no desire to know. By the time they were done, they were sweating bullets. Kaltenecker mooed loudly, as if in thanks, and began to eat.

They dragged themselves away from Kaltenecker’s barn, collapsing into the grass.

“But seriously, are you good?” Lance asked, wiping his sweaty forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. “You’ve been stressed out a lot lately.”

“Got a lot of work to do, Lance,” said Shiro dismissively. “You know how it is.”

Lance arched a brow. “You’ve been avoiding us, too. Avoiding me.”

Shame burned its way up Shiro’s throat. He rubbed the back of his neck, saying nothing, keeping his eyes carefully averted.

“We’ve got a lot of shit going on, I get that,” said Lance. “Especially you with, y’know, forging a stronger bond with Black. But you can’t shut us all out like this. Keith’s been wandering around like a lost puppy, wondering what he’s done to upset you. You’re not training with him much anymore.”

The shame intensified. “Lance—”

“And I miss you.”

There was nothing Shiro could say to that except “I miss you too.”

“So, stop shutting us out,” said Lance, as if it was really that simple. “Hang out and train with Keith again. Go bug Hunk in the kitchen. Talk about whatever you talk about with Pidge. And after that…I may have a surprise waiting for you in our room.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“A surprise?” Feeling the corners of his lips curl in amusement, he leaned over until his breath on Lance’s neck caused him to shiver. “What kind of surprise?”

“If you do what I’ve told you to do, maybe you’ll find out.” Lance jumped up, holding a hand down to help Shiro to his feet. “Come on, you’ve got a team to spend time with. Chop, chop. You’ll never get your surprise if you keep dawdling.”

Shiro kissed Lance chastely on the lips. “I love you.”

Lance beamed up at him. “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you enjoyed it!


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